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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · wax · cell · prune · kick · rest · vault · season

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. cell — in biology
  3. season — in sport
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cell — a phone
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. prune — to trim
  12. tear — from crying
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — what's left
  17. tear — to rip
  18. vault — a safe
  19. season — of the year
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. kick — in football
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. wax — to grow

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com